Drilling Pilot Holes

Category: General

Drilling Pilot Holes

Drill bit selection should take into consideration the meterial properties. In general, the harder the material, or the softer the screw, the larger the pilot hole should be. Use the following table as a starting point. If in doubt, a quick and relatively safe technique is to simply hold a drill bit up to the shank of the screw. Nominally, the proper bit is the same size as the shank between the threads. In practice, use a slightly larger bit for hardwoods, slightly smaller for softwoods.